A great article by Steven Lukes, Professor of Sociology at NYU, discussing C. Wright Mills seminal work “The Power Elite” within the current global climate, where Mills went wrong, and what we can still learn from his 1956 work. Mills conception of concentrated power in a centralized bureaucracy re-enforces much current research regarding the rigidity and its unsustainable progress moving forward. In my mind it also shows the potential for decentralized digital protest, giving an absolutely necessary voice to (in Mills’ words) “the masses”. Modified, Mills’ general propositions lay a decent theoretical framework from which to understand American society from outside of the typical ‘pluralist’ model towards conflict, which we now see manifesting in ever greater numbers through alternative media and the decentralized dissemination of information afforded by digital media.

I did not have much time to throw this post out, any of the causal implications I have made are vague at best, but will be discussed in time part for part.

Mostly though, I just figured that anyone interested in this blog would also appreciate this article, and any thoughts/comments on either the post or article would be greatly appreciated.

Mission Statement:

This blog is meant to be a part of a Masters thesis I will be writing for a program in Globalization Studies at Dartmouth College until spring 2014.

Only a few of my posts are in the header above. Please scroll through to see everything.

The blog is indeed an experiment within the larger framework of the thesis. I would like to see how far this blog can go, geographically, demographically, and in terms of creating meaningful discussions. I hope to use this as a way to gauge the effectiveness of this form of social media--in coalescence with those it easily links to--from the perspective of a single organizer as compared to larger networks and organizations. I am seeking input, criticism, and the chance to talk with anyone who shares an interest in these subjects as the year progresses. If you find the contents of this site to be of value, please share them on FB, Twitter, etc etc. as that is the primary vehicle driving the blog forward and disseminating it to a wider audience.

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Thoughts

"If it had not been for the discontent of a few fellows who had not been satisfied with their conditions, you would still be living in caves. Intelligent discontent is the mainspring of civilization. Progress is born of agitation. It is agitation or stagnation. "
--Eugene Debs

“The power of vested interests is vastly exaggerated when compared with the gradual encroachment of ideas.”
--John Maynard Keynes

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension, it is the presence of justice"
--Martin Luther King Jr.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world"
--Mohandas Gandhi

"Nations will rise and fall, but equality remains the ideal. The universal aim is to achieve respect for the entire human race, not just for the dominant few."
--Carlos P. Romulo

"I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."
--Edward Everett